NCLA is proud to announce that Prof. Sean O’Brien’s latest collection of poetry, November, has been shortlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize 2012, in the International category.

The Griffin International Poetry Prize is the world’s largest prize for a first edition single collection of poetry written in, or translated into English, from any country in the world – the Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry aims to spark the public’s imagination and raise awareness of the crucial role poetry plays in our cultural life.

Judges Heather McHugh (USA), David O’Meara (Canada) and Fiona Sampson (England) each read 481 books of poetry, from 37 countries, including 19 translations, and whittled the submissions down to a shortlist of seven.

Prof. Sean O’Brien and the other shortlisted poets in both categories – International, and Canadian – will be invited to read in Toronto, Canada, on Wednesday, June 6th. The winners, announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards evening on Thursday, June 7th, will each be awarded $65,000.